For Schools: Tackling the Issues, Pollution

Does economic growth have to result in environmental degradation? For many years, pollution was accepted as the price paid for development. Now, however, as more and more people around the world become sick and our natural resources become too contaminated to be useful or enjoyed, we are realizing how steep that price really is. Pollutants that degrade our air, water, and soil make it harder for our environment to support life and long term development. The Bank is working with individual countries and international organizations to encourage development that keeps the needs of future generations in mind. One way of doing this is "integrated environmental management," which uses rewards and pressures to bring about responsible use of the environment.

Pollution Management
This comprehensive site covers the Bank's ongoing work to find creative, effective ways to control environmental degradation that is both a by-product of and a hindrance to development. The site is organized according to type of pollution, the type of industry creating the pollution, and the region of the world affected. Many of the documents on this site look at the health impact of pollution. The following links may be particularly useful to you:

Pollution Prevention and Abatement Handbook

Urban Air Quality Management

Phasing Out Lead from Gasoline

More on Pollution Management

Toward Effective Pollution Management
In the long run, what costs a country more-to allow its environment to become polluted, or to pay to keep it clean? You may be surprised. Read this short Environment Matters article for an overview of the economics of pollution and why pollution management is essential to long-term economic growth.

Developing Partnerships for Effective Pollution Management
Control of pollution cannot be achieved without laws and regulations, yet such legislation is only the first step; it must be reinforced by citizen support. This Environment Matters article describes how the World Bank is working with rich and poor countries to get governments, the private sector, and citizens to agree on what is acceptable environmental behavior.

New Ideas in Pollution Regulation (NIPR)
This dynamic site is for citizens, researchers, and government officials interested in understanding and improving control of industrial pollution, especially in developing countries. It is designed to invite feedback and participation from visitors. Not everything you find on this site reflects Bank policy; instead, this is a place where ideas are tried out and research is presented. You may find these links particularly useful:

Increasing Our Knowledge of the Environment
NIPR has excerpted and annotated this chapter of the Bank's 1998/99 World Development Report to help readers understand how the exchange of knowledge and information is crucial to the future of controlling pollution. The Report is written in plain language and provides tables and graphs to illustrate its points.

R&D for Sustainable Development: Controlling Pollution and Strengthening Institutions
This on-line slide show gives a good introduction to a new perspective on polluters and their relationship to broader society.

Persuasion & Incentives
Read this recent article from the Bank's environmental magazine, Environment Matters, to find out the difference between "integrated environmental management" and traditional "pollution control".

Ozone Depletion

Montreal Protocol
This comprehensive site keeps track of the efforts by the World Bank, other international and local institutions, and individual countries to implement the Montreal Protocol--an international treaty to eliminate substances that deplete the Earth's ozone layer. You may find the following sites particularly helpful in giving you an overview of how the Protocol works:

Questions & Answers: The World Bank and the Montreal Protocol

National Execution: A Sustainable Project Implementation Model

Ozone and the Montreal Protocol
Read this brief Environment Matters article for a short review and description of the Montreal Protocol and gives data on the progress that has been made to date.

Pollution and Health

Cities and Health: Air and Water Pollution
Air and water pollution isn't just unpleasant; in the world's major cities it causes tens of thousands of premature deaths, millions of cases of illness, and billions of dollars in lost productivity and other damage per year. Read this Environment Matters article to learn more about these problems and what is being done to combat them.

Valuing the Health Effects of Air Pollution
Everyone knows that air pollution is bad for your health, but how serious a threat is it? This paper gives insight into how policy makers make priorities when facing public health issues and presents a case for placing the environment near the top of the list.

World Bank Recommends Global Phase-Out of Leaded Gasoline
This news release explains that most of the 1.7 billion urban dwellers in developing countries are now at risk from lead poisoning--with 15 to 18 million children likely to suffer permanent brain damage--and describes the World Bank's efforts to encourage a worldwide phase-out of leaded gasoline.

Data: Pollution

Explore these pages from World Development Indicators, 1999 to find data on poverty for over 140 of the world's countries. To view these pages you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have it, you may download it here for free.

Water Pollution

Air Pollution

Energy Efficiency and Emissions

Digging Deeper

Tackling the Issues
Pollution is associated with other issues that in their turn either reduce or increase pollution. Explore issues like, Urbanization, Water and Sanitation, Energy, and Climate Change.